


Just One More

by ShutUpandPull



Category: Castle
Genre: Caskett, F/M, One Shot, Road Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 08:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6416707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShutUpandPull/pseuds/ShutUpandPull
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A road trip, a game, and something unexpected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just One More

**Author's Note:**

> Dusted off another oldie from the season 5 era. Those were fun times for Caskett.

They still had twenty minutes in the car before their long weekend at the beach house could officially begin, and if Kate had to listen to Castle’s Road Trip Mix for twenty more _seconds,_ she thought she just might open the passenger door and jump. It was that bad. “Castle,” she finally huffed, unable to stand another note of “Margaritaville” for the third time, “can we please turn this noise off?”

“This _what_?” Rick screeched, overshooting by more than a little bit the appropriate amount of indignation called for by such a deserved slight. “I’ll have you know this is great stuff and, quite frankly, your lack of taste truly shocks me, Detective.”

“Funny, that’s not what you said last night,” she lobbed back before taking it upon herself to eject the disc herself.

“That’s…wow. I don’t--” Rick sputtered as last night flooded deliciously back into his mind.

“You forget to pack your wordsmith cap for the trip, Castle?” Kate teased, enjoying the now unspoiled sounds of silence. “That’s okay, you can retort later, once your jaw finds its hinges again.”

Rick could feel the scowl overtake his face. Not only did she insult his music selection, which he’d spent almost an entire hour compiling, but she bested him in a game of quips - mainly because he’d forgotten how to offer one, apparently. “Fine,” he conceded after a moment of pouting, “if you won’t listen to my masterpiece of road trip tunes, you have to play a game with me until we get to the house. It’s only fair.”

“Are you seven? Seriously? We can’t just sit here and enjoy the peace and quiet like adults, Castle? We only have a few more minutes anyway.”

“Exactly!” he hollered as if offering the winning answer on a game show. “I mean, if it’s just a few minutes then you shouldn’t mind, right?”

Kate sighed audibly. “Fine, Castle, what game would you like to play?” she said, the roll of her eyes seeping from every word. “And don’t say I Spy,” she added with a tone.

“Like I was going to,” he came back less than convincingly. “Ooo, how about Either/Or? I’ll give you two choices and you have to pick the one you prefer, then you do the same for me. Okay?” She might’ve been right, he realized, as he heard himself talking. He did sound a bit like he was seven.

“Okay, fine, ask.” Kate twirled the ejected CD on her finger as she both gave him the green light and regretted it at the same time.

“Um,” he thought aloud, “okay, I’ve got one: giving or receiving?”

“Castle!” she snapped, whipping her head towards him in disbelief.

“I’m kidding, Detective. I’m just kidding,” he said with a laugh. “You’re too easy.”

Kate shook her head and wished the blush in her cheeks away as she turned her attention back out the window. “We’ll just see how easy you think I am later. My guess is you won’t be laughing so much.”

“Ouch,” Rick replied, his grin less grand but not entirely extinct. “Okay, for real this time: cake or pie?”

Kate could tell how much he loved this already. He was so goddamned adorable. It made her crazy.  “Cake, definitely,” she answered, catching his nod of self-congratulation at his triumph. “My turn: _The Muppet Show_ or _Sesame_ _Street_?”

“Nice one, Detective. And, that one’s easy - Muppets, no question.”

“That kind of surprises me, actually,” Kate said. “I thought for sure you’d feel a certain kinship with Big Bird, Castle.” She giggled at the thought.

“Yes, ha, very funny. Let’s move on, shall we? Chocolate or vanilla?”

Kate glanced in his direction. “Obviously someone’s hungry. Good thing we’re almost there – for any number of reasons. And, I choose vanilla. It’s simple. It’s classic.”

“And now I’m surprised. After all, you’re anything but simple, Detective. I know this all too well,” Rick replied. A compliment, she knew.

As they made the final turn into the driveway, Kate presented him with one last choice. “This is it, Castle, thank heavens: city or beach?”

“How about,” he began as he shifted the Benz into park, “wherever you are.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned in to kiss her. “Now, was that really so bad?”

“Shut up,” Kate groaned, trying with difficulty to mask a smile. “Let’s go, Writer, I need to stretch my legs and I need some food.”

Once inside, Rick retreated to the bedroom with their bags and Kate began scavenging the kitchen for something they could make to eat. She had absolutely no desire whatsoever to get back in the car to go out for something. With nothing in the refrigerator, she moved on to the pantry and found some spaghetti and sauce that still appeared edible, so she grabbed a pot and set it in the sink. “Castle?” she called out over the sound of running water as he’d been gone far longer than she’d expected.

“Boo,” he leaned in and whispered at her ear, his hands tucked behind his back.

“God, Castle, you scared me,” she said as her body calmed from the fright. “What took you so long? And, what are you doing?” she said suspiciously. “Are you hiding something back there? Please tell me it’s not another CD for the drive home.”

“No, Detective, it’s not another CD for the drive home, but you’d surely be in for treat if it were,” he countered. “No, I have one final either/or for you if you’re up for it.”

Kate looked him up and down with uncertainty, but finally gave in with audible hesitation. “O--kay, Castle, one more,” she said, reaching back to turn off the faucet.

“I promise, this is the last one,” he assured her with a soft smile. “So, left or right?”

“Left or right? Left or right what?” Rick just watched her. He said nothing. “I don’t know, Castle. I guess I’ll go with left,” she responded finally, her answer just as arbitrary as she found the question.

Of course, he thought, as he secretly shifted the object from his right hand before bringing his left arm back around his body, his hand in a tight fist. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Castle, I’m sure,” she said, clearly ready to move on.

“God, I hope so,” Rick whispered as he opened his hand to reveal the ring.

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
